Tony Awards Honor Once and Clybourne Park

Tonight Neil Patrick Harris took to the Tony stage for the third time, and like he stated the third time in the trilogy is when the series gets it right.  Harris as usual, sang and danced his way into the hearts of his audience.  While the show opened with a number from The Book of Mormon, when NPH took the stage he sang about the beauty of a life full where singing and dancing supported everyday life.  Like in a trilogy the number was not as great as the number he did last year, but it was solid.  Watching NPH mock Spiderman: Turn off the Dark by hanging upside down was another highlight of his hosting.  I love watching this man; he is one great award show host.


When it comes to the actual awards Once and Clybourne Park took the top honors in a predictable manner for Best Musical and Best Play.  Once won 7 other trophies (8 total) besting the strong favorite Newsies in several categories including Best Lead Actor in a Musical.  Steve Kazee won besting Jeremy Jordan and Danny Burstein the two favorites in the category.  Meanwhile Clybourne Park's win was the shows only win for the night.  The big winner for plays was the adaptation of the Peter Pan story entitled Peter and the Starcatcher, which won five trophies.


In the other lead acting categories there was also an upset in the Lead Actor in a Play category where the predicted winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Death of a Salesman) lost to James Corden from One Man, Two Guvners.  On the actress side Nina Arianda (Venus in Fur) bested the more famous women in her category, and won Best Actress in a Play.  Audra McDonald tied record making her one of the few people with five Tony awards for Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.  Although McDonald tied the record this was her first win in lead category.  In the revival categories Death of a Salesman won for Best Revival of a Play, and in a more surprising turn Gershwin's Porgy and Bess beat Follies to win the Best Revival of a Musical.

Choreography: Christopher Gattelli, "Newsies."

Orchestration: Martin Lowe, "Once."

Book of a Musical: Enda Walsh, "Once"

Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play: Judith Light, "Other Desert Cities."

Sound Design of a Musical: Clive Goodwin, "Once."

Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical: Michael McGrath, "Nice Work If You Can Get It."

Sound Design of a Play: Darron L. West, "Peter and the Starcatcher."

Direction of a Musical: John Tiffany, "Once."

Direction of Play: Mike Nichols, "Death of a Salesman."

Costume Design of a Play: Paloma Young, "Peter and the Starcatcher."

Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play: Christian Borle, "Peter and the Starcatcher."

Costume Design of a Musical: Gregg Barnes, "Follies."

Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical: Judy Kaye, "Nice Work If You Can Get It."

Scenic Design Play: Donyale Werle, "Peter and the Starcatcher"

Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre: "Newsies."

Scenic Design of a Musical: Bob Crowley, "Once."

Revival of a Play: "Death of a Salesman."

Lighting Design of a Musical: Natasha Katz, "Once"

Play: "Clybourne Park."

Lighting Design of a Play: Jeff Croiter, "Peter and the Starcatcher."

Revival of a Musical: "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess."

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical: Steve Kazee, "Once."

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play: James Corden, "One Man, Two Guvnors."

Performance by an Actress in Leading Role in a Play: Nina Arianda, "Venus in Fur."

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical: Audra McDonald, "The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess."

Musical: "Once."